Waiting in the Weeds
by harrypotter.stieglitz991
Summary: Kid!AU. GrailAnt. Taylor has a crush on Rachel, so he asks her out. A relationship ensues, but all those around them are not necessarily happy.


"Hey, Rachel," Taylor stuttered nervously. He'd had a crush on this girl ever since they were in Kindergarten, and now they were in Third Grade. He'd never had the courage to ask her out before, but this was the perfect time. Rachel's father was an animal judge by trade, and their grumpy old mayor Mr. Notch had decided that their small town could use a county fair, pigs and all.

"Hi, Taylor!" Rachel chirped as she turned around to face him. "What's up?"

For a moment Taylor was lost in her baby blue eyes, but eventually he asked, "Do you wanna go to the Fair tonight, with me?"

"Will there be a Ferris Wheel?" Rachel asked excitedly, "I love those!" Then, her expression sobered. "Oh, no! I can't tonight. I have ballet."

"Oh," Taylor whispered as his world almost literally crashed around him. "That's okay."

"But I can go tomorrow night!"

"Awesome! I'll pick you up at five?" Taylor couldn't contain his excitement.

"Great! See you then!" Rachel looked to be ecstatic.

"Rachel," their teacher, Mr. Jeb, called. "Come here, please?"

"Coming!" she answered. Then she turned to Taylor. "I'll see you tomorrow night!"

Taylor waved back, a dazed expression on his face, before rejoining his friends. "So how'd it go?" Adam asked.

"How'd what go?"

"How'd you asking her out go, silly!" Jason punched him on the arm.

"Yeah, what'd she say?" Ty added.

"She can't go tonight because she has ballet," Taylor began, "But we're going tomorrow!"

"Dude!" Jason cheered. "Group five!"

~The Next Night~

"Bye, Daddy!" Rachel sang as she heard the doorbell ring. "It's Taylor!" She flung the front door open.

"Hi, Rachel," Taylor began, just as nervous as the day before. "You look really pretty. Here, this is for you!" He handed her a sunflower.

Rachel smiled and ducked inside to set the flower down before hopping on her bike, and off they rode.

"Wow," Rachel gasped. "This looks just like Charlotte's Web!"

"So this is what a fair looks like," Taylor whispered.

Rachel squeezed his hand. "Look at the carousel! Isn't it pretty?"

"You wanna go ride it?' Taylor asked, and Rachel nodded. He slipped the operator two tickets and they chose horses side-by-side, a navy for him and a lavender for her. After the carousel, they tried to guess the weight of a pig, ate funnel cake, and listened to the band before ending with Rachel's favorite: the Ferris Wheel. By that time, night had fallen, and the happy couple were watching the stars when they just so happened to get stuck at the top while the operator unloaded the carts. Taylor totally didn't give him an extra ten to ensure that happened.

"You know," Taylor said with a mischievous smile, "It's tradition to give your date a kiss if you get stuck at the top of a Ferris Wheel."

"Is that so?" Rachel returned, catching on to Taylor's drift. "Well, we wouldn't want to break such an important tradition, now would we?" Taylor flinched as Rachel pecked him on the shoulder. "Thank you for tonight. I really had a lot of fun."

"Hey Rachel," Taylor ventured, "Will you be my girlfriend?"

"Yes! Yes! Yes!"

~Two Years Later~

"This is ridiculous," Adam ranted. "They've been together for two whole years! That's like a lifetime! Taylor doesn't even play with us anymore, and Alesa told me that Rachel's ignoring _her _too!"

"Adam, stop talking about it. Please," Jason replied with boredom.

"Yeah," Tyler added, "You talk about Taylor's girlfriend more than your own. What, are you jealous or something?"

Adam didn't hear them. "Before this school year is over, I will break them up. Taylor will be entering the sixth grade single. It's for his own good."

"Well, I hope you're not planning to use us," Tyler began.

"Because we're out of here!" Jason finished. The two marched away.

Adam thought for a moment. He needed someone else involved in this, someone to do the dirty work. Then it hit him. "Martin!" he called to the weird Bulgarian exchange student, "I'll give you five dollars if you help me out with something. How do you feel about trolling people until they break up?"

Martin laughed. "It sounds like a lot of fun, Adam!"

~The Next Night~

Taylor knocked on Rachel's door, armed with a sunflower as usual. Rachel looked dejected as she opened the door, but she perked up when she saw her ever-faithful boyfriend smiling on her porch. "Hey! I heard they have something new at the fair this year," Taylor began. "It's a maze! Wanna try it?"

Rachel beamed. "I love mazes! Let's do it." When they arrived at the fair (and thank Notch they had a fair. Taylor couldn't have done it without him) they went straight in. About five minutes in, however, Rachel whimpered, "Taylor? I don't wanna be in here anymore!"

"Me neither! Let's find an exit, quick!" Following the red painted arrows to the emergency exit, they made it out within a few minutes. "Rachel, I am so, so sorry."

"It's not your fault," she replied as she wiped her eyes. "Let's get some ice cream?" Taylor complied. He paid for the cones and the couple stood and ate, lost in each other's eyes, until someone shoved Taylor from behind. He fell into Rachel, smearing chocolate ice cream all over her dress. "Oh my gosh, Rachel! I am so sorry, I swear I was pushed!" He apologized, hoping it was enough.

"I believe you," she said simply. "Wanna get some food?" They made their way to the only sit-down restaurant at the fair and quickly sat down. They each ordered the spaghetti plain, with lemonade and cheesecake. The conversation was light and witty, and Taylor thought Rachel might have moved past the unfortunate incidents of the night. Alas, when the waiter brought their food, Rachel screamed. "Is this some kind of a joke to you?" she shouted. Her pasta was topped with worms.

"Rachel, it wasn't me! None of this was me!" Taylor protested, but Rachel was JUST. SO. DONE.

"Taylor, you're going to have to find yourself another girlfriend!" she stomped off.

Adam and Martin high-fived behind the hay bale they'd used as their spy base. Taylor whipped around. "You guys did this? I HATE YOU!"

Taylor found Rachel on the outskirts of the Fair. "Rachel, you have to believe me-"

"I do, Taylor," she said, not meeting his eyes. "I was actually planning to break up with you tonight, anyways."

"Why?"

"I'm moving."

"Where?"

"New Mexico."

"When?"

"Tomorrow."

Taylor let that sink in before asking, "Well, we can Skype, right?"

Rachel shook her head. "There's no internet at my new house."

Taylor gulped back tears. "So this is good-bye then."

Rachel nodded. Suddenly, she leaned forward and kissed Taylor full on the lips. "We never got stuck at the top of the Ferris Wheel, so I figured I would kiss you now." Her baby blue eyes were shiny with tears. "Thank you for the greatest years of my life. I love you, Taylor!"

"I love you too Rachel."

~The Next Day~

It should have been raining when Rachel drove away, but it wasn't. The sky was clear and the sun was warm. Jason, Tyler, Taylor, and even Adam were gathered to say their goodbyes. After one last hug, Rachel got into the passenger seat of her father's green pick-up truck. With a "Goodbye, y'all!" she was out of Taylor's life forever.

Taylor buried his face in Jason's chest and sobbed, dampening his friend's Minecraft T-shirt with his tears, before turning to Adam.

"I understand now," he said, drying his eyes. "You were trying to protect me. Thank you." He flung his arms around the larger male in a bone-crushing hug.

Adam sighed. _That wasn't the reason, not at all. Should he tell Taylor?_ His thoughts were interrupted as Taylor pulled away and hopped on his bike, eyes still shiny.

Soon. He'll tell him soon.


End file.
